Second Impression
by Shujinkakusama
Summary: Rose Quartz threw parties after every battle. This time, Garnet finds a reason to attend. / War-era, Pearlnet, set sometime after "Endless Waltz."


Same universe as " _Endless Waltz_ "! More war-era Pearlnet fluff.

* * *

Rose Quartz threw parties after every battle. This was nothing new, hadn't been for nearly a thousand years, but it still felt strange to Garnet, when each battle cost lives. Rose had explained it many times, a thing she'd learned from some human tribe, that they celebrated because life had to go on, and because it was a disservice to the fallen to sit back and mourn their loss instead of celebrating accomplishments they'd made in life. Garnet supposed that made sense, in theory, but in practice…

Whooping and hollering, singing and drinking strange things made from fruit the humans grew, dancing and fusing for sport—it seemed wrong. It sat strangely in her stomach, tasted bad in her mouth, and she dared tell no one. Even Pearl didn't know about her discomfort at these parties, and only because she was so close to Rose—it felt like blasphemy to question, no, to _reject_ Rose's reasoning.

She took to the banquet table, going for some of the honeyed wine to think less. Replicating a human-like body that included similar organs had its ups and downs, but with practice, Garnet had managed to make one that suited her needs.

Drunk wasn't an option; she wouldn't allow herself that kind of loss of control, and probably couldn't really afford it if she wanted to stay fused. But pleasantly buzzed only took a few bowls, and made her future vision a little easier to ignore. So Garnet drank, enjoyed the warm feeling the drink left in her stomach, and did her best not to think about the battle that was less than a full day behind her.

"Garnet!" Pearl's voice, unmistakable, cut into her musings, and she looked up to see the slighter Gem skirting dancers to make her way toward her. The pale Gem bounded up to her, catching her in a hug, and Garnet's arms wrapped easily around her small frame. This was something Garnet looked forward to after every fight; knowing that Pearl was going to do her best to make it to their distant future together by the sea didn't make her worry less.

"Pearl," Garnet sighed into her hair, lifting her effortlessly off of the ground. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Of course," Pearl said, drawing away to grin up at Garnet. "Garnet, we did it—we took the enemy's base without a loss!"

Garnet's eyes widened at that; she'd never heard of a battle that went without _any_ casualties. "Not one?"

"Everyone's accounted for!" Pearl exclaimed, mounting excitement evident. "Kyanite and I double checked; no losses, no major injuries; Pink Pearl didn't have to treat anyone at all at the fountain! It was a complete success, Garnet!"

It was unprecedented, and Pearl's excitement was catching. Garnet couldn't help the broad grin that spread across her face, couldn't ignore the way Pearl clung to her bodily, arms wound around her shoulders like she never intended to let go, hips and chest pressed as close as their clothing would allow. Pearl didn't normally stay like this for so long, but the Fusion found that she didn't mind, not at all. It was nice, having her closest friend wrapped up in her arms, even if she belonged to Rose Quartz in every sense of the idea.

Maybe it was the drink—lowered inhibitions were, after all, a side effect of alcohol. But whatever the reason, Garnet found her hands traveling up to Pearl's face, catching the curves of her cheeks in her palms, and she leaned in. "I'm glad," Garnet said, almost nose-to-nose with her companion.

"Were you drinking?" Pearl asked, somewhat surprised, cheeks flushed at the closeness. Garnet was usually quite standoffish; not prone to the public acts of affection Ruby and Sapphire were separately.

"A bit," Garnet admitted, knowing that was an understatement. She'd had her fill for one evening already, save one or two more bowls at most. The Fusion grinned, nudging Pearl's sharp nose with hers, earning an undignified noise of protest that warmed her heart. Pearl was so uptight, so fastidious, but she always let some of that go in her presence. It was like a secret they shared. "You haven't been."

"You're right. I don't," Pearl tried not to stutter, tried to ignore the burning in her cheeks, the feeling of heat that pooled in her stomach and Gem. "Garnet we should—"

Garnet knew that Pearl was going to say something about propriety, and she also knew that she didn't mean it. There were enough possible outcomes flashing through her mind, some clearer than others, where something Pearl would have deemed inappropriate came of this—this moment—that Garnet didn't think it would be such a bad thing to take one and make it a reality.

"To victory: cheers," Garnet cut in, leaning in to press her lips sloppily at the corner of Pearl's mouth. She saw Pearl's eyes go wide, felt her tense in her grip, and wondered briefly if she'd made the wrong call, and whether she could pass it off as a joke. Ruby and Sapphire were handsy, and she'd been drinking, after all, and in the heat of victory things could get out of hand, and…

And then Pearl turned into the kiss hesitantly, brushing her lips against Garnet's. The kiss was chaste, and gentle, but the electrifying spark between them was impossible to ignore—and more than that, they pulled away knowing full well the other had felt it just as strongly.

"Ch… cheers," Pearl stammered uncertainly, rewarded by the sight of a dark flush on Garnet's cheeks that mirrored her own. And then, to Garnet's surprise, she leaned back in for another quick peck. "To victory."

Maybe these parties weren't so bad.


End file.
